Poetry
Here are a few sample poems from my booklet, 'Jewels In My Pockets'
HORSES STANDING
Facing the breeze,
Four horses standing.
Inanimate, elegant statues
Bred to serve mankind
In the ancient ways.
Industries created with their effort,
Horse power now encased in metal carcasses,
Leaves horses standing.
Silent in communion,
Grouped, but singularly they exist,
Aloof to human admirers,
The essence of nature,
Wild, free, but - no.
And we covet those values
Caught in another form
For us to capture, coral and keep
Like butterflies,
But not pressed -
Just painted for preservation.
I saw them from the car,
Untamed, the equine irony
Maybe muses:
Just who are the broken and conditioned?
Not them.
Individual and one,
Four horses standing.
LOST FOREVER
On the deck the wind pulled its knife
And my ship sank with your treasure aboard
In the deep I lay with the spoils
That no Triton could ever afford.
So I slept on the rigs in the dark
Where night suffocated the day
And this church never opened its doors
When the spirit mariner wanted to pray.
Nirvana - the goal of the psalm
Hard core of impossible schemes,
Lay lost as my bargaining skills foundered
In the current of desolate dreams
And the wind never whispered your name
No shells ever mimicked the tide
I was there, with the wheel in my hand
But your jewels lay dead by my side
And at last the souls of this ocean
Spoke in a tongue I could hear -
“Your vessel will only re-surface
When you leave the ghost of your riches down here”.
SOLDIER
I will be a soldier
And I will learn to fight
I base this key decision
On what I believe is right
My family will support me
They all understand
That I have faith in passage
That turns me from boy to man
And history sits behind me
Where my father watches by
I remember him by serving
In a cause for which I’d die
I’ll take my place in regiment
And follow the green tide
Inside a passion that reveals
My honour and my pride
Now I am a soldier
A different, ordered life
From one where insecurity
Cut through me like a knife
I am trained to deal with routine
Conditioned in my role
To understand that my contribution
Supports a greater goal
But I take my orders nervously
Here in the 23rd
I hang on every syllable
Of each commanding word
That takes me closer to my fate
And through this thick veneer
I doubt my strength and faith in God
As the confrontations near
I was a soldier
I listened to my peers
At first I doubted all of them
As they revealed their fears
But as the fire drew closer
It numbed me to the bone
No safety in great numbers
My soul was cold, alone
I tried to act as I’d been trained
But battle took my breath
I was more prepared for fighting
Then I ever was for death
And so I ask this question:
Was my effort worth
More or less than each full day
Of my twenty years on earth?
THE THICK PLOTTENS
Guy Fawkes
Secret talks
Shadowy figures
Fingers on triggers
Whispers louder
Lethal gunpowder
Ready to blow
In cellars below
Heavy footfall
Skin starts to crawl
Parliament’s best
Soldiers arrest
Defendant charged
Stories enlarged
The guilty hung high
Ha! What a guy!
'Jewels In My Pockets' is self-published, priced at £3 and can be ordered directly from myself by clicking on the 'Contact' page. These are some of the titles of my other poetry contained in the booklet or waiting to be included in the next one: a clear insanity, chancers, education, men of war, this place, never, one eye closed, the cup, trophy, perspective, night swimming, queuing theory, snowing beasts, spirit cleansing, the battle hymn of the boxing nun, the pen is almighty, the rose, the souvenir, tonight, the plot thickens, fresh kills, the day of our lives, take me back to Mexborough!, time, time questions, the feast, your choice, a stone, falling inside you, I still have dreams, nature's answer, intimate, soldier, a lessening love, a reindeer's lot, energy, exploding poetry, haiku hate, hello, love at first sight, sad class, she loved elvis, lost forever, the word, the root of all evil, the rape of peace, commuting strangers, my name is peace - my name is war, men's curse, luck, guilty by inadequacy, a roof above my head, a stone, dialogues and disclosures, church, dog fight and the ok kennel, god's waiting room, graffiti, it's not cricket, jerome kiel, journeying waters, liar, lost in space lost on earth, love life, missing, muse for eternity, natural light, real name, religion, send for the angels, sharkie, shipman, sight, summer terms, the bells of sleep, the mountaineer, the short life of a spud, the swordsman, timeless, the uncrowned king of ireland, when, with a smile, ..... and many, many others.
Seven poems (this place, night swimming, the souvenir, exploding poetry, fresh kills, falling inside you and island) were published in 'Unexpected Illusions' by Forward Press Ltd in August 2003.
To order a copy please go to the 'Contact' page.
Published poetry so far:
The Day of Our Lives (Anthology Publication: Shaft of Light) Published 19.2.03 Softback ISBN: 0754344223 Hardback ISBN: 0754344215
The Thick Plottens (Anthology Publication: Across the Skies) Published 12.3.03 Softback ISBN: 0754344304 Hardback ISBN: 0754344290
The Cup (Anthology Publication: Individual Voices) Published 12.3.03 Softback ISBN: 0754344363 Hardback ISBN: 0754344355
This Place (Anthology Publication: A Crossroads in Time) Published 20.3.03 Softback ISBN: 0754344347 Hardback ISBN: 0754344339
To order a copy please go to the 'contact' page.